Necrocracy

Relapse; 2013

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Exhumed’s 2011 comeback album, All Guts, No Glory made it clear that the California death metallers still had plenty of curdled piss and vinegar left, and now, with Necrocracy, the self-styled progenitors of gore metal have proven that there’s no such thing as aging gracefully. They’re still the same morbid blood freaks that released classics like Slaughtercult, Gore Metal, and the most perverse Led Zeppelin cover in existence, but as this new record shows, they've loosened up a little in their old age.

Necrocracy marks a turning point in the band’s career. They’ve long hinted at their melodic inclinations, but this album makes no bones about it: longtime Carcass acolytes Exhumed have entered their Heartwork period, trading the sloppy savagery of old for a more refined kind of audio violence. They’ve upgraded their tools of the trade, casting aside meat cleavers and dripping chainsaws in favor of freshly sharpened surgical steel and opting for a cleaner production job. Instead of burying the evidence, Exhumed ensure that each galloping riff and phlegmy gurgle is right there, mean-mugging right back at your ugly face. The grind has faded, and only death (and maybe a smear of punk) remains.

One of the biggest things that sets Necrocracy apart from the untold numbers of death metal records released so far this year is how damn catchy it is. It comes as no surprise, of course; Exhumed have always delighted in crafting ghoulish ear worms like perennial favorite, “The Matter of Splatter”, but the gang chants, groovy breakdowns, and meaty headbanger riffs strewn throughout this record take things to a new level. (Just try to get those gang-growls on the title track or “Ravening”s gruesomely audible chorus out of your head.)

“Coins Upon The Eyes” proves that intros are for wimps, slamming straight into a groovy death jam punctuated by Matt Harvey’s strangled Tompa “Go!” It creeps and vamps through a muscular Stockholm riff and searing Swedish melodeath solos, swaddled in a thick, satisfying guitar tone with just enough spit shine to make sure every instrument bleeds through. The bass tone is on point, too, leaving lots of space to throw its weight around. The band delight in shifting tempos and shocking their listener awake with wild solos and unexpected breakdowns. Closing track “The Rotting” goes off into an extended melodic passage that never gets boring, while the burly “Dysmorphic” breaks into an ominous acoustic interlude before diving back into the pit. “Sickened” starts with a perfectly spewed “Bleagh!” from Harvey, blasting through a perfect example of the interplay between the band’s trademark guttural bellows and frantic high-pitched squawks before barking out “Move your ass!” The jittery d-beat on “(So Passes) the Glory of Death” ensures that you’ll do just that. These tracks (as well as damn near everything else on the record) are going to slay in a live setting, just as Exhumed intended. They’re no slouches onstage, and Necrocracy is poised to add plenty of ammunition to that formidable live onslaught.

This may be Exhumed’s most accessible offering yet, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost their edge. Matt Harvey and his merry maniacs know exactly what they’re doing, and have spent 20-0dd years perfecting their poisonous formula. The riffs still bludgeon, the snare still snaps, and the dual vocal assault still growls and yelps with the best of them. The wailing solos and brilliant flashes of melodic death metal perfection are a welcome addition, as is their maturing approach to songwriting. Ultimately, Necrocracy is one more in a long line of killer albums, and thanks to its dynamic range, clever riffs, and newfound melodic focus, is likely to ensnare the youth of today the same way its spiritual predecessor lured in the young heshers of old.